My wife and I are booked on the Millennium Dec.1. I would like to know if we should order spa treatment packages before we sail or wait and book on board. On some other cruise lines we have sailed, we have been able to get some discounted pricing for spa treatments. Anyone have recommendations for what spa treatments to purchase. Thanks for your help.

go ahead and wait. Just be sure that one of you go to the spa as soon as you board and the other one of you go to the Olympic restaurant. That way your cruise will be fabulous. I never buy the spa packages because you still need to book individual stuff when you get onboard. They always include unpopular choices along with the popular stuff, just to get it sold. There are 24 brand new treatments aboard the Millenium class ships. When I was on the Amsterdam last spring I was talking with one of ths spa attendants and she told me she trained with a woman who was being posted to the Infinity. She said she needed special training and that Steiner had created 15 new oil blends for the new treatments.

I agree with Carole. As soon as you board, go directly to the spa and book your massages, facials, etc. Be sure to have it all planned ahead of time so you can just tell them the days and times YOU want. Then be sure to go to the Olympic and book your dinner - you should also have the evening and time planned ahead. We do our planning on the trip down. Book the treatments separately, because they always put treatments in the packages that are a waste. Also, if you book a spa package, they tell YOU when to show up for each treatment. I went down the minute I boarded the Mercury and told them when I wanted each treatment, they had to reshuffle things a bit, as they had already done my package without consulting me first. I am paying big bucks for this package, and I want to go when I want - not when they can fit me into their sched. Enjoy!
Sue

I totally agree. You will need descriptions of some of these new treatments to better understand and know what you wish to have. There prices are steep, too and only certain therapists perform certain treatments. The spa may require you to tour the facility too before queing up to book. Also, try to phone for a reservation at the Olympic from your cabin as soon as you board. That saved us a lot of time.
Bon Voyage

I agree with all that's been said. We book the spa first, then trips. There are some nice combo treatments that are offered once you get on board--at least that's what happened on Mecury. You can also find some discounted prices once cruise is underway but these are not always at convenient times. Have a great cruise!

My wife and I just got back from Alaska on the Infinity. She made appointments for a massage and facial, but was very dissapointed when we found out that they run great specials on port days. If you book your treatments, ask first about specials, and see if they mesh with your tours in port. We paid almost twice as much as the specials.

Also - remember to check to see before you book if they will be running saftey drills while you are on the massage table. This happens while in port. Its awful with all the alarms ringing, and trying to relax.....This happened to me last time on the Mercury. I complained afterwards to the purser. They removed it from my bill!
Sue

Also--note that most of the spa treatments (& I have sampled quite a selection) IMHO are geared more towards aesthetics -like facials & skin improvement than therapeutic/sports massage. Sometimes they give you a free free product & then go over all the stuff they used. You could spend hundreds in short order. ( It's not a hard sell, but still sometimes you feel obligated to get at least one item--the are pricey but excellent). .I would not be happy to have loud noises disrupt the session.